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NBA announces stronger flopping policy for playoffs

The Point Forward named Chris Paul's dive against the Kings the Flop of the Year.

NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson announced a new, stronger anti-flopping policy for the 2013 playoffs on Thursday.

The regular-season policy included a warning for first-time offenders before escalating fines kicked in for subsequent offenses. The postseason policy removes the warning and assesses fines immediately for a first violation.

The new fine scale works as follows.

Any player who is determined to have committed a flop during the 2013 playoffs will be subject to the following:

Violation 1: $5,000 fine

Violation 2: $10,000 fine

Violation 3: $15,000 fine

Violation 4: $30,000 fine

If a player violates the anti-flopping rule five times or more, he will be subject to discipline that is reasonable under the circumstances, including an increased fine and/or suspension.

This season, the NBA assigned 24 flopping violations to 19 different players on 13 different teams. Five players received two infractions each, earning fines totaling $25,000, with zero players getting dinged three or more times.

The NBA defines flopping as "any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player" with the "primary factor" in determining a flop being whether "a player's physical reaction to contact with another player is inconsistent with what would reasonably be expected given the force or direction of the contact."